Welcome to the Stoke sub Hamdon Parish Council website.
The village of Stoke sub Hamdon, situated 5 miles to the west of Yeovil in the heart of South Somerset, lies below the ancient Iron Age hill fort of Ham Hill (one of the largest in Europe), and indeed was once known as ‘Stoke under Ham’. Now more commonly known as Stoke, it is classed as an ancient parish being first registered as such in 1558[1] .
The village which includes East Stoke, comprises numerous building styles mostly constructed from the warm honey coloured Hamstone quarried from Ham Hill. Much of the village lies within a Conservation Area which covers its central part, and there are over 100 listed buildings, walls, milestones and monuments throughout the parish.
Stoke sub Hamdon has a population of approximately 2,415[2]. There are a wide variety of organisations, businesses, schools, public venues, allotment gardens and public houses. Many beautiful walks are to be had around the village and surrounding areas where a wide variety of flora and fauna can be seen. Part of the parish covers Ham Hill which is itself a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), local nature reserve and popular country park.
There is one operational church in the village, St Mary’s Church of England in East Stoke. The other two are now Community buildings. The former Methodist Church in West Street is the Hamdon Youth and Family Centre, which is now owned by the Parish Council. The closed United Reformed Church in North Street currently houses an Arts Centre run by the Hamdon Community Arts Project.
[1] Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, Northgate, Canterbury, Kent